Mandibular Anesthesia Curved Dental Needle

Abstract

The present invention provides a curved needle design which deflects to an advantageous angle when inserted within the medial posterior soft tissue of the patient lower jaw. The deflected needle tip is more perpendicular to the vertical wall of the posterior ramus and promotes the needle tip contacting bone proximate to the inferior alveolar nerve prior to injection of anesthetic. The needle design also improves the tactile feedback to the dental practitioner as the needle penetrates tissue and contacts bone.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A dental procedure for injection of pharmaceutical compound into an injection site at a posterior vertical wall of a patient mouth in an inferior alveolar nerve block performed by a clinician, the patients mouth having a internal oblique ridge, a pterygomandibular raphe, a lingula, a mandible bone, and a inferior alveolar nerve, the procedure utilizing a needle assembly affixed to a syringe, the needle comprising a needle shaft, a needle hub, a needle tip, with a central bore passing thru each, the syringe comprising a syringe barrel and a plunger, the procedure steps comprising;
 palpating the patient's internal oblique ridge using the clinician's thumb or index finger, the internal oblique ridge providing a landmark for identification of an injection site;   identifying the injection site as medial to the internal oblique ridge and lateral to the pterygomandibular raphe and directly adjacent and centered to the palpating thumb or index finger;   inserting the needle tip at the identified injection site by applying an axial force to the syringe barrel, the needle shaft comprising a centerline axis and a curve therein such that the centerline axis of the needle shaft at the tip is at an angle when compared to the centerline axis of the needle shaft at the needle hub,   wherein the centerline axis of the needle shaft at the needle shaft tip is deflected towards the lingula of the patient by the axial force;   applying axial force to the syringe barrel until the needle tip contacts the bone of the mandible;   withdrawing the needle tip 1 to 2 millimeters and injecting the pharmaceutical compound adjacent the inferior alveolar nerve.   
     
     
         2 . The dental procedure of  claim 1 , wherein after withdrawing the needle tip 1 to 2 millimeters, the clinician retracts the syringe plunger to ensure he or she is not injecting the pharmaceutical compound into a blood vessel, and upon verifying no blood is present, the pharmaceutical compound is injected. 
     
     
         3 . The dental procedure of  claim 2 , wherein when blood is present and the needle tip is withdrawn an additional 1 millimeter, the clinician again retracts the syringe plunger, and upon verifying no blood is present, the pharmaceutical compound is injected. 
     
     
         4 . The dental procedure of  claim 1 , wherein the pharmaceutical compound is an anesthetic. 
     
     
         5 . The dental procedure of  claim 1 , wherein as the needle tip is inserted into the injection site the angled needle shaft centerline axis facilitates access to the injection site by avoiding physical obstacles presented by the patient anatomy to the needle assembly and syringe barrel. 
     
     
         6 . The dental procedure of  claim 1 , wherein the angle between the centerline axis of the needle shaft at the tip when compared to the centerline axis of the needle shaft at the hub is between 15 and 45 degrees. 
     
     
         7 . The dental procedure of  claim 1 , wherein the angle between the centerline axis of the needle shaft at the tip when compared to the centerline axis of the needle shaft at the hub is substantially 30 degrees. 
     
     
         8 . The dental procedure of  claim 1 , wherein the needle shaft used in the procedure has a length between 20 millimeters to 40 millimeters from tip to hub measured along the needle shaft centerline. 
     
     
         9 . The dental procedure of  claim 1 , wherein the needle shaft used in the procedure comprises a central bore between 20 and 32 gauge therein for passing pharmaceutical chemicals there thru. 
     
     
         10 . The dental procedure of  claim 1 , wherein the needle shaft used in the procedure comprises a central bore between 25 and 27 gauge therein for passing pharmaceutical chemicals there thru.